Roush Racing – Bristol Advance
Bristol Motor Speedway, Mar. 24-26
NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series: Food City 500
NASCAR
Busch Series: Sharpie Mini 300
Roush Racing Fast
Facts
· Mark
Martin has two victories at Bristol (8/98 and 9/93), both coming in the
fall race.
· Martin’s
seven poles at Bristol tie for the most ever.
· Martin
won four consecutive poles at Bristol in 1995-96.
· Martin
has posted 20 top-10 and 15 top-five finishes in 38 races at Bristol.
· From
’95-2000 Martin scored 10 straight top 10’s at Bristol. He has not finished top
10 there since.
· Crew
chief Pat Tryson scored his first career Cup win at Bristol in 2001. His pit
strategy was vital in the victory by the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.
· Greg
Biffle is currently 21st in the point standings, a gain of four positions
from the previous week.
· Biffle
and the National Guard team are currently 296 points out of the lead but are
only 77 points out of a top-10 position.
· Biffle
has completed all but one lap in six Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor
Speedway.
· This
weekend the No. 16 National Guard team will again run the 2006 Subway paint
scheme. This paint scheme will run a total of 11 times this season.
· For
the first of three times in 2006, Matt Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 USG
Sheetrock Ford Fusion. USG Sheetrock will also be the primary sponsor for the
USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in July and the November race at
Phoenix International Raceway.
· Kenseth
led 415 of 500 laps at Bristol last fall and won from the pole, turning in one
of the more dominating performances at the "World’s Fastest Half
Mile" in recent memory. The 415 laps led in the event were the most in a
race at Bristol since Rusty Wallace in April of 1999.
· Kenseth’s
average finish of 12.2 is fifth among active drivers at Bristol.
· In Jamie
McMurray’s six Cup starts at the Bristol Motor Speedway, he has one
top-five and three top-ten finishes.
· McMurray
will be running car number 66 this weekend in Bristol. This car finished 10th
last fall at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
· This
weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway marks the first of five races for
McMurray behind the wheel of the black and red No. 26 Sharpie Ford Fusion.
· McMurray
will join the FOX broadcast team in the Hollywood Hotel on Saturday for a portion
of the Sharpie Mini 300 Busch Series race.
· Carl
Edwards’ last win at Bristol came in August of 2004 while racing in the
Craftsman Truck Series.
· Edwards
currently sits only 144 points out of 10th place in the points standing
· In
Edwards’ last 10 Nextel Cup starts, four have resulted in top five’s and six
have resulted in top 10’s.
· Chassis
RK-320 was last run at Homestead-Miami Speedway where Edwards finished fourth
in November of 2005.
· Carl
Edwards will be a guest on Speed Channel’s "Trackside Live" this
Friday, March 24th at 7:00pm
· Danny
O’Quinn Jr. has run three races at the Bristol Motor Speedway but has had
bad luck in each of those races. In two of his three starts there a blown tire
would keep him from a solid finish, and in his other start, getting caught up
in a 10-car wreck not of his own making ended his day early.
· O’Quinn
Jr. was born in Bristol, Tenn., and grew up about an hour north in Coeburn, Va., so the Bristol Motor Speedway is truly his home track.
· Bristol is one of a few racetracks on the NASCAR Busch Series circuit that O’Quinn Jr. has
raced on before, so he has more of an advantage going into this weekend’s
Sharpie Mini 300 than he’s had in previous weeks.
· The
No. 50 Barr-Nunn team is bringing chassis RK-177 as a primary to Bristol this weekend, which is a former No. 60 Carl Edward’s Busch car.
Roush Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway
Current Roush
Racing Drivers in the NEXTEL Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway
Driver
Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles
Mark Martin
38 2 15 20 7
Greg Biffle
6 0 2 3 0
Matt Kenseth
12 1 5 7 1
Jamie McMurray
6 0 1 3 0
Carl Edwards 3
0 0 0 0
Totals
65 3 23 33 8
Current Roush
Racing Drivers in the Busch Series at Bristol Motor Speedway
Driver
Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles
Todd Kluever 0
0 0 0 0
Greg Biffle
8 0 3 4 1
Matt Kenseth 10 2 5 5 0
Danny O’Quinn Jr.
0 0 0 0 0
Carl Edwards 3 0 0 1 1
Totals
21 2 8 10 2
All-time Nextel Cup
Series Records
for Roush Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway
Starts Poles Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s
113 8 7 31 46
Roush Racing
Current Point Standings
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Series
Driver
Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s
3. Matt Kenseth 612 -78 4 0 1 2 2
4 Mark Martin 600 -90 4 0 0 0 3
16. Jamie
McMurray422 -268 4 0 0 0 1
21. Greg Biffle 394 -296 4 1 0 0 1
30. Carl Edwards 327 -363 4 0 0 1 1
NASCAR Busch Series
Driver
Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s
7. Carl Edwards 614 -158 5 1 0 2 3
10. Greg Biffle 595 -177 4 0 1 3 3
15. Todd Kluever 549 -223 5 0 0 0 1
19. Matt Kenseth 470 -302 3 1 0 2 3
22. Danny O’Quinn
Jr. 440 -332 5 0 0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series
Driver
Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s
1. Mark Martin 560 – 3 1 2 3 3
8. Erik Darnell 422 -138 3 0 0 0 2
43. David Ragan 0 -560 1 0 0 0 0
Mark Martin
Team: No.
6 AAA Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Pat
Tryson
Chassis:
RK-274 Last used to run to a 16th-place finish at Bristol last fall.
Also
ran the car at both Martinsville races, including a third-place finish in the
spring.
Martin, NNCS at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Money Won
Spring 19
0 6 10 4 $905,785
Fall 19
2 9 10 3 $995,311
Cumulative 38
2 15 20 7 $1,903,096
Martin on racing at
Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol can be crazy. I’ve always said it is like flying a jet fighter around the inside
of a basketball arena, and try that with 42 other jets doing it at the same
time. It can get really intense and it takes a great deal of patience by
everyone. You just have to hope that you run well and that you can stay out of
all the trouble, which isn’t always easy to do. Over the years Bristol has been the source of some real highs and lows for me.
"I’ve had some
of the most memorable races I can remember there and some pretty tough times
there as well. We’ve had a lot of trouble staying out of the wrecks lately
there. In fact our luck has been so bad there as of late that we are definitely
due and hopefully we’ll see that there this weekend."
Crew Chief Pat
Tryson on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol has been a pretty tough place for us the last few years. We’ve had some good runs,
but some really bad luck and we’ve seemed to get caught up in a lot of wrecks.
We know that Mark can get the job done and I think that we’ll have a good car,
so if we can just stay out of all the wrecks and keep our nose clean then I
think that we should be able to get a good finish and maybe even be there at
the end again."
Greg Biffle
Team: No. 16
National Guard/Subway Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Doug
Richert
Chassis: RK-268
(Car the team won with at Dover and Darlington in 2005)
Biffle, NNCS at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Totals
Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Money
Spring
3 0 1 2 0 $266,650
Fall
3 0 1 1 0 $330,000
Cumulative
6 0 2 3 0 $596,650
Biffle on racing at
Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol is the highest banked and most intense track we go to. You don’t have time to
breath and it is super competitive. It is extremely difficult to pass at Bristol, so track position is crucial. It also makes pit strategy really important
because if you get on the wrong pit cycle, it can cost you the race. For the
fans, I think Bristol may be one of the best tracks we go to because there is
not a bad seat in the house."
Crew Chief Doug
Richert on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"We’re taking
a car that we won with last year at Dover and Darlington. We also tested it
this year at Las Vegas but decided not to take it back there for the race. We
think it will be a good car for Bristol this weekend because of the success we
had with it at Dover and Darlington. A good run this weekend would be a big
boost for us in the points. Right now we’re only 77 points out of the top 10
and that’s our current target. Qualifying will be important, so we can get
good pit selection. Pit strategy will be important this weekend."
Matt Kenseth
Team: No. 17 USG
Sheetrock Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Robbie
Reiser
Chassis: Primary: RK
– 089; Won last NNCS race at Bristol leading 415 laps.
Oldest
car in the No. 17 team’s stable.
Backup: RK
– 280; Last ran at Atlanta in March of ’05.
Kenseth, NNCS at Bristol Motor Speedway:
TOTALS
Races Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Money
Spring 6 0 2 3 0 $557,544
Fall 6 1 3 4 1 $802,854
Cumulative 12 1 5 7 1 $1,360,398
Kenseth on racing
at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol is a fun place to run if you can get your car to handle good. It’s really like
any other track when it comes to passing. When people say ‘the track layout
causes the wrecks,’ that’s not true. The drivers still have control of the
racecars and if you can get your car to handle good, then you can pass
cleanly. Anybody can pass by running into the car in front of them, but the
good ones are able to work on their racecar and improve the handling to where
they can pass cleanly. If you aren’t fast enough or handling good enough to
pass the guy in front of you, then, for most drivers, just slamming into the
back of the car in front of you to get them out of the way isn’t an option.
It’s like any other track; you have to be good enough to beat the other guys
into the corner to gain the position, not just good enough to reach their
bumper."
Crew Chief Robbie
Reiser on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"If you have a
well balanced racecar and can really turn through the center of the corner,
then you’re in business at Bristol. It’s really all about who can pick up the
accelerator faster than the other guy. That will determine who’s better than
the other guys; like pretty much every where else we run. We’re bringing the
oldest car in our stable which has run at Bristol the past three or four years
and won there last fall. If we can stay clean and have no mistakes, we’ll be
in good shape on Sunday."
Jamie McMurray
Team: No. 26 IRWIN
Industrial Tools Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Jimmy
Fennig
Car Number: 66,
finished 10th last fall at Bristol.
McMurray, NNCS at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Totals
Races Wins Top 5’s Top 10’s Poles
Cumulative 6
0 1 3 0
Jamie McMurray on
racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Racing at Bristol is a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to it – it’s our first race at a short track
this year. It will be an intense 500 laps – that’s for sure. I’ve finished in
the top-ten at Bristol three times, and I would definitely like to match that
this weekend. We’ve struggled some in the last couple of weeks and our team
needs a solid finish."
Crew Chief Jimmy
Fennig on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"This team has
had a lot of success at this track [Bristol]. We’ve won here four times in the
last eight races. It’s a matter of staying out of trouble and not getting your
car torn up too bad before the end. We’ll be missing our rear tire changer, Joe
Kruschek, who injured his hand in Atlanta. He’ll be sorely missed and the rest
of the guys will certainly be thinking of him as they rally together."
Carl Edwards
Team: No.99 Office
Depot Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Bob
Osborne
Chassis Number:
RK-320
Edwards at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Winnings
Nextel Cup Totals 3 0 0 0 0 $301,552
Busch Series Totals 3 0 0 1 1 $58,400
Craftsman Truck
Series Totals 2 1 1 1 0 $55,560
Edwards on racing
at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol isn’t a track I have run well at in the past. I think a lot of it has been
because of bad luck or we get caught up in a wreck. I am looking forward to
going there this coming weekend and finally bringing home a good finish for the
Office Depot team. It is a lot of fun racing in Bristol; I always have a blast
there."
Crew Chief Bob
Osborne on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol isn’t a track the Office Depot team has seen much success at over the last year.
It is one of the more challenging tracks we visit throughout the year. We
have a great race car heading into next weekend, but with short track racing,
it’s always a toss up. Our focus is to come out of Bristol with a top-10
finish and hopefully move up in the points a little. The Office Depot team is
taking it one week at a time, not focusing on the short run, but the entire
season."
Todd Kluever
Team: No. 06 3M
Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Mike
Kelley
Chassis: #1104
– former Matt Kenseth car with new body and clip
Todd Kluever at Bristol:
Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles
Cumulative
NCTS 1 0 0 0 0
Todd Kluever on
racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol is a pretty cool track. I’ve only raced there once in a truck but it was a lot of
fun. It reminds me of Slinger Super Speedway back in Wisconsin. I’ve raced at
Slinger several times and have had some pretty good runs there so hopefully
some of that experience will transfer over to Bristol.
"This
weekend we have a little less pressure on us since we are now locked in the
race since we are going off 2006 points. Having to qualify for this race on
time would have been really tough since there are so many cars separated by
only hundredths of seconds. Now we can spend more time working on our race
set-ups during practice and not have to be as concerned about making sure we
get in the race. A huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders having those
first five races behind us."
Mike Kelley on racing
at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol is always an exciting race, no matter what series is there. Todd got some
experience there in the truck last year and he’s learned a lot over these first
five Busch races. The car we are bringing does not have one of our Roush
chassis, but we did put a new clip and body on it for this race. Hopefully it
comes back to the shop with the clip and body somewhat intact. You just never
know when trouble might find you at Bristol."
Greg Biffle
Team: No.16
FreeCreditReport Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Eddie
Pardue
Chassis Number: RK-
296
Biffle, NBS at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Series
Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Money
Busch Series Totals 8 0 3 4
1 $177,800
Biffle on racing at
Bristol Motor Speedway:
"I just love Bristol. The FreeCreditReport Team is very excited about racing on the .5-mile oval. Bristol is always exciting for the driver and fans. We have had really good runs so far
this season and plan on having a great run this weekend."
Crew Chief Eddie
Pardue on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"This is our
first race with FreeCreditReport.com and we are really looking forward to Bristol. We are taking chassis RK-296, which was last driven by Mark Martin at Homestead last year. It’s also the car we tested with in Las Vegas and it tested very
well. We are coming together as a team and we are really looking forward to
this weekend."
Matt Kenseth
Team: No. 17
AmeriQuest Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Chad Norris
Chassis: RK-295
Matt Kenseth, NBS
at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Races Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Money
Cumulative
10 2 5 5 0 $222,810
Matt Kenseth on
racing in the Busch Series at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"I enjoy
racing at Bristol, as do a lot of drivers. They’re adding 50 laps to the Busch
race and that’s fine; I don’t think it will matter that much. You can look at
it two ways. One, it could give you more of an opportunity to run down
someone, or two, it could give you 50 more laps to wreck or have someone wreck
you. Either way it should be entertaining as Bristol always is."
Crew Chief Chad
Norris on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"We are taking
the car we ran at Fontana this week it is RK-295. It is a really good car. Matt
ran this same car at Bristol last year and ran really well. The team is really
pumped up right now we have been running well just have come up a little short,
but we’ll get it. Matt ran really well at the Bristol race last year in the Cup
car, so we are really looking forward to going there."
Danny O’Quinn, Jr.
Team: No. 50
Barr-Nunn Transportation Inc. Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Drew
Blickensderfer
Chassis: RK-177
O’Quinn Jr. at Bristol Motor Speedway:
-No
previous starts.
O’Quinn Jr. on
racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"This is
definitely going to be one of the biggest races for me all year. I was born in Bristol, Tenn. and I grew up about an hour north in Coeburn, Va. so this is my home track
and I’m going to have a lot of friends and family here cheering me on. I’ve run
here a couple of times before and haven’t had the luck but I definitely enjoy
this racetrack. It is probably my favorite race track on the circuit, and it
being here in my home town, I don’t know if there would be a better place for
me to run well."
Crew Chief Drew
Blickensderfer on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol is a very exciting, very fast and very short racetrack, so to be successful you
have to survive all the mayhem that goes on there. To be competitive, it takes
luck and car. You have to be able to stay on the bottom of the track and stay
out of other people’s trouble. We expect to run well at Bristol. "
Carl Edwards
Chassis Number:
No.60 Soaring Dreams Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Pierre
Kuettel
Chassis Number: RK-
165
Edwards, NBS at Bristol Motor Speedway:
Series
Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Money
Busch Series Totals 3 0 0 1
1 $58,400
Edwards on racing
at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol is one of my favorite tracks and I always have a blast there. We are sporting a
new Soaring Dreams paint scheme this weekend. I need to get focused and put he
Soaring Dreams Ford Fusion in the top-five Saturday. Bristol is always
exciting. I can’t wait!"
Crew Chief Pierre
Kuettel on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:
"Bristol is a race track we would really like to run strong at. It has a lot of history behind
it and it’s a great place to win at. We are running a special Soaring Dreams
paint scheme this weekend and hope to do well."
